


Spiraling

by ilovelegendsalot



Series: The Forgotten One [2]
Category: Ben 10, Ben 10 Series
Genre: Angst, Big Brother Ken, Brotherly Love, Family Feels, Gen, Gwen's big brother, Little sister gwen, Magic Ken, No weird ships, Why did they never bring Ken back?, depression kind of, descent into insanity and hiding it well, insane family member, split personality/possession
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27039940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovelegendsalot/pseuds/ilovelegendsalot
Summary: They never see him anymore. Never call, never visit. Not special enough for his family's lofty universe saving careers, he supposed. He hadn't been planning on visiting, but he was going to take advantage of the opportunity before him. Ken's got a secret now, one he won't let his family discover. Things will be different this time.Ken, Gwen's often forgotten older brother, has a voice in his head and he is slowly spiraling into insanity.
Relationships: Ben Tennyson & Gwen Tennyson, Ben Tennyson & Kenneth "Ken" Tennyson, Ben Tennyson & Max Tennyson, Ben Tennyson & Rook, Gwen Tennyson & Ken Tennyson, Gwen Tennyson & Max Tennyson, Kevin Levin & Ben Tennyson, Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson
Series: The Forgotten One [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961626
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Remember when they introduced Gwen's big brother Ken? And how you couldn't wait to learn more about him and his relationships with Ben and Gwen? And then they never even mention him again after that one episode? Ken deserved better.
> 
> This is the second story in a series of stories revolving around Ken and his descent into a villain. I actually posted the first story quite a long time ago as basically a one shot, but I've decided to expand upon it. I would highly recommend reading the story before this one "The Forgotten One" so you have a better idea of Ken's character and how things got here. You technically don't HAVE to read the previous story, but it will really help and will allow you to appreciate this one more.
> 
> For this series, consider the original series, alien force, and ultimate alien completely cannon. Then I'm going to take a lot from omniverse, but there are things I'm going to leave out. There was a lot I liked in Omniverse, but there was a lot of stupid stuff too that I'm going to ignore. Like that garbage of Kevin not really being a plumber's kid and he was really just some science experiment and all those plumber memories had just been implanted in people's heads? Stupid, dumb, not happening, I have no idea why they would try to pull something like that (if they were really running out of story ideas, there was a perfectly good older brother laying around they probably could have used, *cough cough nudge nudge*) Also, in my stories Gwen still has her alien force/ultimate alien look and so does Kevin. Gwen doesn't suddenly revert to her 10 year old look.

Ken had very mixed feelings on this.

He was currently driving back to Bellwood. It was spring break and his parents had insisted he come back. He hadn’t been planning to before, but it would have looked suspicious if he’d refused, especially when they’d said Gwen would be there.

He tapped his fingers methodically against the steering wheel. His parents were up to something. They _knew_ something. He didn’t know what, but one of his ex-friends must have talked to them. The shits.

He didn’t care that much about what his parents were scheming against him though. They wouldn’t succeed. No, the thing that made this trip almost torturous was his mirror. Or lack thereof.

The churning in his stomach grew more violent and his arms, which had only been slightly shaking a second ago, shook harder. The uncomfortable heat in his body increased and his grip crushed into the leather of the steering wheel.

 _Six days_ without his mirror. Panic clawed at his throat. He’d never make it. He’d never gone longer than 24 hours. But he couldn’t risk bringing it with him. Not here. Ken took a gulping breath, swerving back from where he’d been starting to veer off the road.

The sick feeling didn’t go away though. Not only could he not use his mirror, he wasn’t there to protect it either. He’d hidden it away and created guards, but the anxiety was almost unbearably. Someone could be trying to steal it from him right now and he was so far away. He should be able to sense if it was disturbed, but it could already be too late by then.

_‘Calm down. It is well protected. Focus on what is in front of you. You’re finally going to see your little sister again.’_

That-that was true. Ken relaxed slightly. He was looking forward to seeing Gwen again. That is, if she stuck around.

Angry frustration made his hackles raise. If some stupid alien attacked or caused trouble, she would rush out to deal with it and be gone for 95% to 100% of the time. As usual.

But this time would be different. He could _make_ it be different. Determination flooded his veins like fire. He had magic now. Power. He just couldn’t let Gwen find out.

He slouched back in his seat, eyes flicking to the ‘Welcome to Bellwood’ sign as he passed. Excitement sparked within him and the sickness subsided. There was so much he wanted to talk to Gwen about.

Ken had been worried when his mom (Gwen hadn’t been the first to tell him) told him Gwen was going to college early. Sixteen years old. He’d been proud of course, but two years was a lot. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she was smart enough, of course she was smart enough, but college wasn’t purely academics. Ken had had opportunities to skip grades too, but he’d decided against it. He hadn’t wanted to leave his friends behind or leave his home and family early or be the youngest kid in class. Gwen had been eager for the jump though.

In all honesty, he was kinda disappointed she was going to college for a magic degree. He’d been shocked there even _was_ a magic degree, but he’d accepted long ago that the world (the universe really) was weirder and more messed up than he’d thought it was. Things used to be so simple.

Make no mistake, he’d _never_ tell Gwen he didn’t like her degree, but he’d been hoping going to college would make her more… normal. That she’d choose a normal career, something he could understand and talk to her about. Sure, he had magic _now_ , but again, he was never going to tell her that. He’d been hoping she’d be a doctor or a lawyer or something. Maybe even attend the same college as him. A pipe dream, obviously.

His dream hadn’t stopped there either. He’d hoped Gwen’s college attendance would ground her in the normal student life. Give her more free time and take her mind off aliens. But no, of course that hadn’t happened. She was doing school _and_ part time vigilanting as Lucky Girl. He bet _Ben_ had talked her into that somehow. But Ken was going to make this visit count. He’d make sure she _had_ to spend time with him.

Ben would be there too.

Ken sighed, the thought souring his mood. His feeling towards Ben were so confusing. He was so _mad_ at him right now. Yet at the same time, he was excited to see him again. The conflicting feelings didn’t make sense. But he supposed being mad at someone didn’t mean you didn’t love them. And Ben was still family. Ken didn’t have to sink to his level.

But if he sent a zombie bat or two flying into his face, well, karma was karma.

_‘A zombie bat? Really? He sees stuff weirder than that every day. That isn’t going to leave any impact. You need to think bigger.’_

Ken frowned. It was a good point. And the bat would never have been enough anyway. Well, he had six days, he was sure to think of something.

He saw Grandpa Max waiting for him as he pulled into the parking space. He was staying in the dorms at the Plumber Base while he was here since that was where Ben and Gwen were staying. Ugh, he was going to be surrounded by _aliens_. To think he’d actually thought meeting aliens would be cool as a kid.

Turning off the engine, he reached over and grabbed one of his bags off the passenger seat then exited the vehicle. He’d dressed very casually for the drive, just a blue t-shirt and jeans. Grandpa Max was walking up to the car.

He looked the same as ever, even wearing a Hawaiian shirt like he usually did. Ken smiled, waving as the older man approached.

_‘He lied to you.’_

His smile faltered for a second, but he put it back in place almost immediately.

“Kenny,” Max greeted warmly, embracing his eldest grandchild. Ken returned the hug on instinct.

“Hey, Grandpa,” Ken greeted, pulling back from the hug. A hug that had felt hollow. “Long time no see.” Really. “How have you been?”  


“Oh, I’ve been keeping myself busy,” Max replied pleasantly. “Always something that needs doing. And some of these younger recruits are quite a handful. Ben included.”

Ken chuckled and he knew it sounded real, but it felt fake. “He’s always been a bit of a handful. Probably always will be.”

“You were always so good with him,” his grandfather recalled fondly. “Carl and Sandra practically wanted to put you up for sainthood.”

Ken grinned. His aunt and uncle had always been great to him. He wondered, what they thought about Ben’s- activities. “I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“I don’t know, seems pretty close to the truth to me. Now-“ he clapped a hand onto Ken’s shoulder and Ken held in the flinch. “Where’s the rest of your luggage?”

Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Ken shrugged the hand off. “I’ve only got one more suitcase and I can carry it myself. No need to strain your old bones.”

“I may be old, but I’m as spry as ever.”

“No kidding,” Ken said, walking around to the trunk and popping it open. “I swear you’ve barely aged a day for, like, a decade now. And the sixties aren’t _that_ old.”

Max laughed and Ken could _feel_ his eyes on him. “How have you been, Ken?” The question was friendly, but it sent Ken’s anxiety spiking.

Why was he asking that? Did he suspect something? Was he looking at him weird or was it his imagination?

_‘Answer the question.’_

Right, right. All those thoughts had raced through his mind in half a second, so there was no noticeable pause. He was fine.

“Still top of the class,” he replied casually. “Nothing exceptionally exciting has happened.” You all think I’m so _boring_. “Busy though. They really work you for engineering.” He paused, placing the suitcase on the ground and popping up the handle. He gave a sideways glance towards the older man. “Or was that your sneaky attempt at asking if I’ve officially asked Jenny out yet?” He didn’t want to talk about _her_ , but it should be a suitable distraction.

Grandpa Max grinned slyly. “Well that was certainly one thing I was interested about.”

“We’re not official or anything,” Ken half-lied. “We’ve been hanging out a lot more, but we haven’t been using the words.”

It was a lie. He had asked Jenny out officially. And she’d said yes. And it had been great. They’d gone rock climbing for their first date. Honestly, she’d been the main thing that had kept him from completely falling into his depression.

He’d had a crush on her since their junior year of high school. His friends had teased that she was practically a Tennyson already since her name fit the whole rhythming thing his family did. He’d been terrified to ask her out, she’d seemed so out of his league. No chance for anything beyond friendship. Then the perfect moment had come along, and things had been great until recently. He’d actually sacrificed some time with his mirror to spend time with her. And she’d been so damn ungrateful.

Dumped.

His temper flared at the thought. Technically, she’d said ‘take a break until he got his act together’, but it was effectively dumping him. She’d said he’d become _weird_. She’d even called him creepy. Creepy! It made his blood boil. He’d given up time with his mirror for her! If she came back and asked for forgiveness, he’d probably forgive her, but she had to apologize first.

“If you really like this girl, you shouldn’t drag your feet too long,” Max advised. “Girls don’t like indecision, and they won’t wait around forever.”

“Yeah,” Ken sighed. “I know. I just want it to be at the perfect moment, y’know.” He was getting really good at lying. Part of him was ashamed, but another felt proud. Smug even.

His grandpa shook his head in amusement. “You always were a romantic. Your dad was the same way.”

“Really?” Ken asked, raising his eyebrows. He could actually see that.

“Oh yes,” Max said. “I’ll have to tell you some of the stories sometime.”

“And here I was thinking I’d heard it all.” Minus all the alien stories that apparently made up 95% of his life.

Ugh. Why was he so mad? His head was throbbing. He didn’t want to be mad. He was careful not to slam the trunk closed.

Pulling his wheeled suitcase behind him and carrying his bag in his other hand, he stepped onto the sidewalk. Looking up the street, he shifted on his feet nervously. “So… Ben and Gwen still don’t know I’m coming?”

His grandfather shook his head. “It was so last minute,” he reminded. “And you said you wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Yeah, I know.” He still thought it was the right decision. Better they not have time to prepare. He chewed at his lip nervously. “And I guess this plumber base is going to have a lot of aliens in it?”

Max frowned slightly and he angled himself so he had a better view of his grandson’s face. Ken felt a flutter of embarrassment, but he stamped it out quickly.

“Yes,” the older man said slowly. Why was he looking at him like that?

“Yeah, I figured.”

His grandfather circled to stand in front of him. His expression was gentler than he’d thought it would be.

“I know you don’t have much experience with aliens. And your first encounter wasn’t exactly positive.” No, really? Having a parasite burrow into your brain, control you and mutate your body _wasn’t_ a pleasant experience? Who would’ve thunk? A living nightmare was a better descriptor. “I understand you’re probably nervous, but I promise no one here will hurt you. And I’m sure you’ll adapt quickly.”

Ken startled a little. “No, no, it’s not that,” he refuted quickly. “I’m not scared they’ll attack me or anything like that.” Just let them try. “I mean, I’ll admit I’m a little nervous, but more about coming across as rude or dumb. I really don’t know much about aliens. And there are so many different kinds.” So good at lying. He didn’t give a damn what those freaks thought about him. Still, being viewed as friendly would probably help him in the long run.

“Oh, I understand that,” Max sympathized. “I remember my first day at the academy. So many species and cultures thrown at you all at once. It can be overwhelming, and I’d had experience with aliens beforehand. Don’t worry about it too much. It will be easier than you think. And nobody’s going to judge you even if you do make a small slipup here and there.”

_‘Everybody is always judging everyone.’_

“What exactly would be considered a slipup?” he asked dryly.

His grandpa gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll pick that kind of stuff up. And they might be different, but at the end of the day, we all have the same core. Ben, Gwen, and I will all help you if you need it. I think you’ll do better than you think.”

“Thanks,” Ken said, quirking a smile. He gave himself a small shake. “Well, we can’t stand around all day. Let’s get going.”

“Sure thing,” Max nodded. “Follow me. Gwen and Ben are going to be thrilled to see you.” His grandfather began leading him up the sidewalk.

‘You’re sure Gwen won’t be able to tell the difference? She won’t sense anything?’

_‘The spell was flawless. Don’t do any magic where she can see, and you’ll be fine.’_

The reassurance helped Ken relax somewhat. Before he knew it, he was in a large room full of technology he’d never seen before with many different creatures he’d never seen before milling about. Some of them looked at him curiously but none approached.

Until they entered the next room that is. This one was empty except for a tiny green alien working on a panel in the corner and the alien walking towards them. It looked like an overgrown fish. Tall, grey skin, light purple eyes, green fins and gills, an angular fish light on its head, fanged teeth that poked out over its lips. It was wearing the plumber uniform, which made sense, this being a plumber base. Ben could turn into one of those, he vaguely recalled. This one definitely wasn’t Ben though. He’d called it Ripclaw or Ripjaw or something like that. Ken doubted that was the actual name of the species though.

 _‘A Piscciss Volann,’_ the voice sneered. _‘Nothing more than an overgrown fish. They shouldn’t even be letting him on land like this. And he must be rather old to survive so well outside water. Heat would destroy him quickly.’_

Hm, it did seem odd. Surely there were water planets he could be plumbing on. Was that what it was called? Plumbing? It would make sense, but no one ever told him anything so how would he know. Maybe fishman had just wanted a change of scenery. And earth _was_ mostly water. Ugh, now he was picturing an ocean full of aliens. Not a nice picture.

“Max!” the alien greeted cheerfully. A friend of his grandpa then. The creature’s eyes shifted to look at him. “So, this is the eldest grandkid, eh?”

Ken’s heart skipped a beat. Someone who knew he existed? The weight in his chest lightened slightly.

_‘You’re staying at their base, he **had** to tell **someone** you were coming.’_

Oh, yeah, that made sense. The hope that had briefly sputtered within him withered away.

“That’s right,” Max confirmed, wrapping an arm around Ken’s shoulder and smiling at him. His tone was confusing. He almost sounded proud, but that couldn’t be it. He wasn’t proud of him. Ken must be misreading it, or it was fake. Just didn’t want to admit that the great Max Tennyson had a boring, ordinary grandkid. Yes, that had to be it.

“This is Ken,” Max continued, blissfully unaware of the thoughts in Ken’s head. “Ken, this is Magister Patelliday, an old friend of mine.”

Hm, he knew his grandpa was a magister. So they were the same rank then. And 'old friends' meant experienced. Fishman might be fairly important around here. He’d have to be especially careful around this one.

“Pleasure to meet you Ken,” Patelliday said, reaching out to shake his hand. Ken let go of the suitcase handle to meet it. The hand felt scaly and was webbed, fingers ending with claws.

“You too,” Ken returned with an affable grin. “Old friend, huh? You must have all kinds of stories.”

Fishman chuckled. “I sure do. But I won’t start prattling before you’ve even got a chance to unpack.” The alien stepped back and studied him for a moment. Ken inwardly tensed. “My, my, you look a lot like your sister.”

The unexpected observation sent a burst of pleasure through him. Which was soon followed by bitter resentment as he realized _this thing_ probably spent more time with his sister than him. How was that fair?

_‘It isn’t.’_

He swallowed back the resentment best he could. “Yeah, she’s the pretty one though,” he joked. They really did look a lot alike. Same hair, same eyes. Obviously related. He withheld a smug grin. Ben didn’t look anywhere near as similar.

His eyes drifted towards the door on the far end of the room. He could sense Gwen’s mana from here. She was close. So close.

Patelliday must have noticed his gaze drifting. “Well, run along and see your sister and cousin. I don’t wanna keep ya, just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. You need anything during your stay here, just let me know.”

Ken thanked him and they went their separate ways. The anticipation vibrating under his skin burned. There was nervousness there too. And something else he couldn’t quite place.

Ben would be there too. He wasn’t sure how he’d react to seeing them both at once…

No, no it was fine. He was fine. He could handle it. Eyes on the prize.

Steeling himself, he stepped through the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ken reunites with his younger family members after not seeing them in a long time. Yet he is still unsatisfied...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for chapter 2! Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Any time the corruption voice changes between “our/we” “my/I” and “you” is intentional and is meant to show the blurring of the lines

The room appeared to be some kind of rec room. There were places for creatures of various sizes to sit and what looked like alien holographic tabletop games. The pool table and arcade cabinets were a bit of a surprise. Normal human things looked out of place, surrounded by so much alien weirdness.

But none of that mattered. A brief glance around the room and then his attention zeroed in on the people inhabiting it.

Ben was lounging on the couch, doing something on his phone. Gwen was sitting in one of the chairs, reading a book. Kevin was here too, playing one of the holographic games against an alien. Though he’d never met the alien, Ken recognized him from seeing him on TV. Rook was Ben’s new permanent partner since Gwen went off to college and Kevin followed her. Ken wasn’t exactly thrilled he was here, but so long as he didn’t get on his way. At least it was just the four of them.

The sight of his younger family members made his gut twist in strange ways. It caused him to hesitate for a second.

In that second, Gwen looked up from her book and their nearly identical eyes locked. Ken’s throat tightened with a burst of anxiety. Then Gwen’s eyes widened, green brightening as she set her book aside and stood up. “Ken?!” she gasped excitedly.

The relief hit him hard. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, or dreading, but this was good. It really was.

Ben half fell off the couch as he rocketed up. His eyes brightened the same way Gwen’s had and he broke into the boyish smile Ken remembered so well. “Ken?! What are you doing here?! I didn’t know you were coming!”

His cousin’s reaction made Ken’s heart melt, soothing his ire. It reminded him so much of when they were younger. Even the ‘ _Oh, sure, when you’re directly in front of him…’_ didn’t dampen his mood as Ben launched at him with a hug. His earnest eagerness was as endearing as ever.

Gwen joined the hug a moment later, more composed, but still visibly excited. Ken let go of his suitcase so he could wrap his arms around them to return the hug.

“Hey there kiddos,” he greeted, smiling. He was still taller than both of them. Somehow that made him feel better. He was still the _big_ brother.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Gwen asked happily.

“It was a pretty last-minute decision,” Ken explained. He was coming here without a plan, so it was best if they didn’t have a plan either. More flexible. And he’d wanted their genuine reactions to seeing him. “Figured might as well make it a surprise.”

The two backed out of the hug and Ken had to stop himself from snatching his little sister back. He hadn’t seen her since Christmas and even then, she’d only stayed home a couple of days. A flicker of irritation sparked within him. He hadn’t seen her in so long, he was owed more than a five second hug.

Ugh, great, now the alien and Kevin were walking over. Yeah, it would be kinda rude for them to ignore him, but he didn’t want to talk to them. His irritation grew, but he didn’t let it show.

“Are you staying here?” Ben asked, looking at his suitcase. “Like, at the base?”

“Yep,” Ken affirmed. “Since this is where you and Gwen are staying. Grandpa Max set me up with a room.”

He braced himself for it. The rejection. They had a training exercise to do, an alien to fight, a crisis that needed to be dealt with. There was always something. Something more important than him.

So when the immediate rejection didn’t come, it threw him off.

“That’s awesome!” Ben gushed, rocking on his heels. “I can show you around! There’s a ton of cool stuff here! All that science-y stuff you love!” A familiar gleam appeared in his eyes. The one that meant he’d gotten one of his _ideas_. “In fact, we just got this awesome gun that-“

“Ben, no,” Gwen rebuked, giving her cousin an annoyed glare. “You’re banned from getting within five feet of that gun.”

“But-“ Ben whined.

“No.”

“Ugh,” Ben crossed his arms with a pout, rolling his eyes. “Fine.”

Ken chuckled, chest feeling lighter than it had in a long time. “I have a feeling that 'science-y stuff' is going to be a bit above what my Engineering 432 covers, but it would still be cool to see.” Actually, if he could get his hands on some of it, he might be able to- no, no, that wasn’t what he was here for. As tantalizing as picking apart such advanced technology was, that would only be a distraction.

“Hey, man,” Kevin greeted as he and Rook came to a stop beside them. Intruding, but that was unavoidable.

“Hey,” Ken returned, giving a little wave. “Long time, no see.”

There was a very slight air of nervousness from Kevin, though the younger boy didn’t outwardly show it. If Ken didn’t have his newfound sensitivity for negative emotions, he wouldn’t have been able to tell at all. He suspected the teenager was always a little nervous around him though. Kevin seems to have overestimated how important Ken was to his little sister. He wanted his girlfriend’s older brother to approve of him. Ken had only met Kevin a few times but judging from the comments of people who knew Kevin better, he was fairly certain the boy tried to be on extra good behavior around him.

Overall, Ken liked Kevin. He seemed smart, reliable, and to genuinely like (love) his little sister. They’d first met when Kevin had been helping free him from the DN aliens so that had definitely left a good impression. His criminal inclinations did still worry him, but everyone assured him that Kevin had improved a lot and it didn’t seem to be a _huge_ deal so…

Of course, if Kevin ever broke his little sister’s heart, Ken would curse him with the most agonizing curse in his spell book and cast him into the shadows where he would remain for all eternity. But that went without saying.

“Kenneth Tennyson,” the alien greeted in a friendly tone, reaching out a hand. Ken shook it.

The alien was furry. Very humanoid though. He looked like what would happen if you fused an elf (the Lord of the Rings type, not the Santa type) with a blue cat. The build and pointed ears of an elf but with the fur and eyes of a cat.

Honestly, Ken was pretty indifferent to Rook. A bit jealous of how much time he spent with Ben, but he supposedly helped protect Ben and keep in line so Ken was grateful for that- wait- His blood iced over. Was this guy _replacing_ him?

Ken’s thoughts were racing dangerously but the alien kept talking. “A pleasure to finally meet you. I am called Rook. Your cousin and I are partners on plumber business. I have heard much of you from Gwen.”

Really?! Ken’s heart did a little flip. So she did think about him sometimes?

“Just Ken is fine,” he said lightly, hiding his turmoil. “Nobody ever calls me Kenneth. Like, ever. Sometimes I wonder why mom and dad even bothered. Could have just gone with Ken to begin with.” Even when he’d been in trouble, which admittedly had almost never happened, it had still been either Ken or Kenny.

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “I totally forget he even has a full name all the time. He really never uses it. Meanwhile _Gwendolyn_ over there-“ he tilted his head towards her, smirking. “-is trying to use her full name to sound more _mature_.”

“Ben,” Gwen snapped, a pink flush spreading over her cheeks.

“Really?” That was so adorable. Ken looked at his little sister, eyes sparkling with amusement. “You’ve always been pretty mature though. Most of the time.”

Ben snickered and Gwen scowled at him. Ken smiled softly. Even now as teenagers, the pair of them were still cute. If only…

“So do you want me to start calling you _Gwendolyn_ now?” he asked, turning his eyes fully on his sister. It would feel weird, but it was really cute so he could definitely play along.

“Only if you want to,” Gwen said quickly, fiddling with one of the strands of her long ginger hair.

“What?!” Ben asked, sounding outraged. “Why does he get to call you Gwen but not _me_?!”

“He’s my older brother,” Gwen said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

“I’m your cousin! We’ve been stuck together since birth!”

A fierce smugness rushed through Ken at this revelation. At least he had one thing over Ben when it came to his little sister. Even if it was small.

“Aw, don’t feel bad, Benji,” Ken comforted, patting his cousin playfully on the head.

Kevin snorted. “Benji?” 

Ben leveled a glare towards the boy, but, surprisingly, didn’t say anything. No way… Had he realized that talking back would just encourage more teasing? But Ben wasn’t that socially aware. Had he improved since Ken had last seen him? He doubted it could be by much though. Sometimes it seemed like that obliviousness was just baked into his personality. And how could he have improved and still ignored Ken so completely?

A heat flickered in the depths of his stomach.

The alien put a finger to his chin thoughtfully. “A nickname for a nickname. Yet the second nickname is longer than the first. Earth customs continue to fascinate me.”

Did his home planet not have nicknames? Ken had a hard time believing that. Nicknames were one of the most natural things for an intelligent species to develop. Maybe they just used them differently. There were many types of nickname after all. Or maybe their culture saw using nicknames as rude.

He literally didn’t care at all about this guy’s planet though. He just wanted him to leave so he could be alone with his younger family members.

So it was a pleasant surprise when Kevin said, “Hey Rook, why don’t you and I go type up those reports? Give Ken here some time to settle in?” Ken knew he liked Kevin for a reason.

Rook’s eyebrows furrowed (well, he didn’t have eyebrows, but the facial movement was the same) then smoothed a heartbeat later. “Ah, a sound proposal,” he agreed with a nod. “It was a pleasure to meet you Ken. I am sure we will talk more later. If you need anything during your stay, do not hesitate to ask.”

After thanking Rook and saying goodbye to Kevin, Ken was _finally_ left alone with Gwen and Ben.

“So are you staying the whole break?” Ben asked excitedly.

“Yep. I have to leave enough time for the drive home, but that still leaves me six days with you guys.” Six days away from his mirror… Ken withheld a shiver.

He was distracted from his rising dread as his sister hugged him again. “That’s great, Ken! I’m so happy you came. I’ve missed you.”

No she hadn’t. It was a nice lie, but it hurt all the same.

‘ _You’d think the people with access to spaceships, maybe even teleportation, would visit more if they **missed** you so much. Instead, they left it to the guy with a school schedule and a decade old used car to come to **them**. Even if using their fancy spaceships was impossible for some convenient reason, a text every once and a while would be better than the **nothing**.’_

Ken wasn’t going to call them out on it though. Not now at least. He already knew what their excuses would be. At least Gwen had her classes limiting her somewhat. Ben had dropped out of school like a delinquent, so he didn’t have a schedule restraining him.

“I’ve missed you two too,” Ken said _truthfully_ , petting his baby sister’s hair affectionately. He was disappointed when she released the hug.

“How’s school been?” she questioned.

“Still straight A’s I bet,” Ben said before Ken could say anything. “Ooh, have you asked Jenny out yet?”

“Still top of the class,” Ken confirmed, not allowing his annoyance to leak into his voice. He didn’t want to talk about Jenny but he couldn’t not answer the question. And none of this was new. Ken had always gotten good grades and he’d been crushing on Jenny since 11th grade. Maybe earlier. It wasn’t like Ben was asking unique, up-to-date questions. These were merely leftovers from back when things were normal. “As for Jenny, we’ve been hanging out a lot more, but I haven’t gotten the perfect opportunity to ask yet.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so nervous to ask,” Gwen huffed. “You’re a great guy. She’d be lucky to have you.”

Ken smiled. “Thanks sis.” He reached up to rub at the back of his neck in feigned embarrassment. “It’s not so much that I’m nervous. I mean, a little sure, every guy is, but it’s more I’m waiting for the best time.”

“Ah come on,” Ben said. “You don’t _wait_ for a moment, you _make_ a moment. You’re twenty now, that’s, like, officially an adult.” The younger boy tilted his head thoughtfully. “Well, not old enough to drink, but you were never going to do that anyway. The important thing is you’re not a teen anymore. You can’t wait forever.”

Ken’s mind flew back to a couple months ago. Almost three weeks after his birthday, he’d received a late happy birthday card from Ben. No real excuse had been given for the lateness. Just ‘I was busy heroing’ with a smiley face. Even a measly card was apparently too much to ask. He’d spent the rest of the day angry, delving into his spell book. It had appeared on his nightstand on his birthday. Like a present.

Crossing her arms, Gwen raised an eyebrow at her cousin. “I don’t think you have room to talk about relationships, Ben.”

“Wha-hey!” Ben gasped, offended.

It was true. Ben didn’t have a great track record with girlfriends. Maybe he was still too immature. It was a shame. Ken had liked Julie. She’d been nice. Normal. And her responsible and levelheaded nature had been good for Ben. But that relationship had been screwed up somehow. He didn’t know the details. That’s what happens when a person doesn’t talk to you in forever. All the news and gossip sites were almost worthless for gathering that type of information. They tried to pair Ben with every girl he got within 3 feet of. And he’d only heard snippets from other family members about what other girls Ben had actually dated. Ben being famous now wasn’t going to help him any. It would just attract girls who wanted him for the wrong reasons. He was only 16, so he had plenty of time left, there was no need to rush. That didn’t make messing things up for dumb reasons okay though.

“He does have a point though,” Gwen admitted, turning her eyes toward him. “And you really don’t have anything to worry about. She really likes you.”

Their borderline lecturing could easily have annoyed him. They hadn’t even seen Jenny in over a year _at least_ and if they’d tried at all to stay in touch, they would already know he and Jenny were official. Or used to be. Or still were, he wasn’t sure. But they were both being so earnest and encouraging about it, he couldn’t fully get angry.

So he just smiled and said, “Thanks. Like I said, I’m not too worried, the opportunity I’m looking for is bound to pop up soon.” He was done talking about this, so he changed the subject. “So, what have you two been up to?”

“Ooh, I got a new omnitrix!” Ben exclaimed loudly, waving the offending wrist in front of him. Right in Ken’s face. Forcing him to look at the thing he’d been actively avoiding looking at this whole time. “I’ve got a bunch of cool new transformations. A bit glitchy though. At very inconvenient times.”

From there, Ben launched into descriptions of his new aliens and stories of battles he’d won with them. His arms waved around wildly as he mimed the words.

Ken wasn’t listening.

His eyes were glued on the watch. It had a lot more white than before. The black had been reduced so it only covered the watch’s face. The green patterns had changed slightly too. The whole thing looked sleeker. Yet it was still the same device he loathed. If Ben had never touched it, if it had never existed-

_‘You could always remove it.’_

It’s not that easy. Frustration burned his blood like acid. He’d love nothing more than to shatter the damned thing into a million pieces, but it was fused to his cousin’s skin.

_‘We could do it the easy way. Just cut off the forearm.’_

What?! No way! Ken could never do that! He was angry at Ben, yeah, but he’d never physically hurt him.

_‘It isn’t that big a deal. With the technology he has access to, replacing a missing limb would be simple. He’ll barely notice a difference. And a robotic arm would likely be better than the flesh he has now. While it would cause short tern pain, forcing him to quit all this heroing will save him from greater pain in the long run.’_

Ken’s stomach clenched.

That- that was- but when would he even do it? There was no way he could let Ben know it was him. While he was sleeping…? If he used a disguise- could he have to cut off both arms? Otherwise, what would stop him from just switching arms? Would losing an arm not be enough to make him give up? Could Ben attach the omnitrix to his legs somehow? It just needed skin contact, right? It would be an inconvenient place to reach, but- no, wait. He’d just destroy it after the first time. No need to hack off _all_ his limbs. But-

His thoughts suddenly jolted to a stop. Like something had grabbed them from behind and yanked back hard, leaving Ken flailing. What had-?

Outwardly, his expression didn’t change in the slightest, but inside, mounting horror was causing Ken’s heart to race. What was he thinking?! Maiming Ben like that?! He felt sick. No, he hadn’t really been considering that! No way. There was no way. He’d accidentally kicked a soccer ball into Ben’s stomach when he was 11 and he’d been guilt ridden for weeks. So he’d never- It had just been a- a what-if daydream type thing. He’d never even _consider_ doing something insane like that. Never.

Ken’s insides were jittering so hard, he didn’t understand how his body wasn’t shaking at all. How was he doing this? Why wasn’t-

_‘Regardless, the watch is one of the main causes of my familial problems. There must be some way to dispose of it.’_

Ugh, it really was. Whatever he’d just been thinking about evaporated from his mind as he considered what might be done. He studied the watch unobtrusively as Ben made quick punching movements with his hands, presumedly describing one of his fights.

It looked so different compared to what it had looked like before. Too different. Which led him to make two important conclusions.

  1. There have been at least two omnitrixes in existence, which means there might be more and/or a creator capable of making more. Which meant even destroying Ben’s current omnitrix would likely be only a short-term solution.
  2. Since this was a new watch and Ben wasn’t still wearing the old one, there must be a way to safely remove it. He knew many bad guys in the past had unsuccessfully tried to steal it from Ben, so the method must be very difficult, a secret, or both, but the method existed.



These two revelations weren’t especially encouraging. It wasn’t _hopeless_ , but the hurdles seemed nearly impossible to overcome. If only there was a way to just make Ben give up the omnitrix willingly…

_‘There exists a solution for all problems. Strive unyielding for solutions and you will attain your goal.’_

Hmm, well, he was never going to solve that particular problem is a single day anyway. Still, no reason he couldn’t multitask. He could spend time with his younger siblings and dig for info at the same time.

“Ken?”

The world that had dimmed around him rushed back into focus. Gwen was looking at him with a vaguely concerned look on her face. A couple seconds later, Ben seemed to realize something was wrong and paused in his story, cocking his head with a confused expression.

“Oh, sorry,” Ken apologized, acting abashed. Dang it, he got stuck inside his head so easily these days. “Kinda started to zone out a little there. It was a long drive.”

Gwen startled, eyes darting to his suitcase. “And you haven’t even had a chance to unpack yet,” she realized. “I’m so sorry Ken.” She spun to glare at Ben. “Ben, why’d you start one of your stupid stories before Ken could even get a second’s rest?”

“My stories aren’t stupid!” Ben protested childishly. “They’re awesome because they’re about me!” He then turned sheepishly towards Ken. “But, ah, sorry Ken, should have let you unpack first.” His chest puffed up. “It’s going to take a while to _regale_ you with all my heroic deeds after all.” Ken really was trying not to be annoyed, but he was failing pretty miserably. The bragging was annoying enough, but he also wasn’t giving Gwen much of a chance to talk. Ben started walking towards the door. “C’mon, I’ll take you to your room so you can unpack and everything.”

Ken’s brow furrowed. “You know where my room is?” Ben hadn’t even known he was coming.

Ben paused mid-step and was quiet for a few seconds. “…I will ask someone which room is yours, then show you where it is.”

“Thanks,” Ken said, vaguely amused. “I do want to hear the rest of your story though. You did sound pretty awesome.” He had _no_ idea what Ben had been saying. Crap.

_‘He was telling a likely exaggerated story about fighting a corrupted mechomorph called Malware. It absorbs technology and wanted to absorb the omnitrix. Apparently, the creature was able to delete one of Ben’s transformations, one he was particularly fond of, before his defeat. How intriguing.’_

Ben was looking triumphantly at Gwen. “Sure,” he said, though the word seemed more aimed at Gwen, rubbing Ken’s apparent approval in her face.

Ignoring their bickering for now, Ken theorized, “I assume grandpa put me by wherever you and Gwen are staying, but he never told me where. Pretty much just got here and I came straight to see you guys.”

“Sweet,” Ben cheered. “I hope your room’s right next to mine. It is available. At least, I think it is. I’ve never seen anyone come out of it.” What was the chance someone was staying in that room and Ben had just never noticed? Fairly high, sadly.

“I’ll come with too,” Gwen said hurriedly. He’d hoped that would have been obvious, but maybe it wasn’t.

“Ooh,” Ben chirped, beginning to walk towards the door again. “I can keep telling you the story on the way. I was just about to get to the best part.”

Ken laughed. “Sure, Ben. I haven’t seen you in a while so I’m sure I’m super behind.”

Getting information out of Ben shouldn’t be hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone else remember Ken is a character that exists and should have played a way larger part in the show? Crazy they just dropped a character like that.
> 
> Please leave your comments below, I love reading them. 
> 
> Merry Christmas Everyone :)

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave any comments and feedback in the comments, I love to read them. I'm also curious how many of you even remembered Ken was a character. I really can't believe they never brought him back after that one episode. You'd think Gwen's (and basically Ben's) older brother would have more involvement and impact.
> 
> And just to be clear, ken disliking aliens so much is mostly the evil influence rather than himself.
> 
> I don't have a set update schedule for this story, I'll just update chapters as I write them.


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